paris postcard: market scene, montparnasse

on wednesdays and saturdays, the narrow island that divides boulevard edgar quinet in montparnasse hosts a market where neighborhood folk can purchase gorgeous, locally grown fruits and vegetables and flowers. the meats are plump and tempting…

i’ll take a quick spin through tomorrow for cherries (cerises!), before heading to roland garros, but here are a few shots from last week:

all photos © anita aguilar

paris postcard: let the macaron wars begin

2 chocolat + 1 vanille

(heavenly)

from patisserie thvenin

119 avenue gen leclerc, in the 14th arrondissement

new thai, pure thai

hat tip to the tasting table for inspiring a ride on the n train for a pure thai lunch, with allison last week. billed as a shophouse — imagine, though, a thai roadside stand on a dwr budget– pure thai is a wonderful stop for a light, inexpensive lunch, especially on a sunny, temperate afternoon when sunshine and a cool breeze allow you to pretend you’re somewhere else ( not thailand exactly, but also not quite new york). from a pure value perspective, with the prices at roughly half-off the dinner menu , it might just be the best lunch deal around, even with the metrocard fare…

for a little flavor, here are the photos:

allison and i loved that they specified “perdue” chicken. not a lot of cache behind that  name, but at least they are honest.

i have a hard time resisting hibiscus –especially in tea or margaritas. i was warned that this drink was neither a tea nor a juice but it still wasn’t what i expected. it was exceedingly sugary– a hibiscus fruit drink. others might enjoy the almost syrupy sweetness, but i would have preferred this mixed with seltzer, or watered down with a lot of ice. OR as a topping for shaved ice.

crispy shrimp sesame crepe is a nice savory starter–it offers the opportunity to experience the flavor of lime in a new way. it’s bolder and more aromatic here. a must-have for lime lovers.

wok cashew nuts with shrimp: cashew nut, scallion sugar snap peas, chili tamarind sauce

allison and i ordered dishes that were variations on the same theme–sauteed shrimp served with white rice. i love tamarind, and while i wished the sour notes of the tamarind were more prominent, this was also nicely sweet.

we ogled the noodle soups pretty hard on the way out–that’s what we’ll get the next time.
***
pure thai is 766 ninth ave. (between 51st and 52nd sts.); phone is 212-581-0999.

there is a communal table in the back that could reasonably seat 6-8, and a slim counter that runs along the side–you’d have your back to the prep counter/kitchen– and a couple of seats that are front and center to that same counter/kitchen, and a table for 4 in the front…basically, it’s a cozy, 35-seater. once word gets out, you may have to wait for dinner…

dirt candy: vegetable love

in the past, i couldn’t really say that the idea of going to a vegetarian restaurant had me doing jumping jacks in my apartment to contain my excitement. typically, i wouldn’t seek out a vegetarian restaurant over the ever-growing list of restaurant i want to try, but dirt candy won me over. the menu items sounded so appealing, so different and quite different than the vegetarian meals i would have ever thought to make for myself.

we left the restaurant happily filled, after eating more than our fair share of jalenpeno hush puppies and fried cauliflower (and more), and surprisingly, the meal felt indulgent. as we left the tiny, tiny restaurant, i couldn’t help but look at all of the equally happily filled diners, gleaming with excitement over legitimately decadent things like “carrot buns.”

starter: jalenpeno hush puppies  (puffy, fried balls of hush puppy goodness, with chopped jalepenos and the lightest maple butter)

two appetizers:

carrot: steamed barbecue carrot buns, cucumber & sesame ginger salad (my personal favorite of the night. these buns were so doughy, and the vegetable filling was so tender and flavorful)

and

squash: butternut squash broth, squash dumplings, delicata coconut cream (really light and definitely not too sweet)

our entree, cauliflower: buttermilk battered cauliflower, waffles, horseradish, wild arugula (anything fried with a dipping sauce, sign me up!)

our dessert: popcorn pudding with salted caramel corn. i’m not quite sure the pudding tasted like popcorn, but i loved it anyway.

vegetarian or not, dirt candy is definitely worth a visit. warning: you may end up craving carrot buns!

dirt candy: east 9th st., between ave. a and 1st ave.

food porn: the dallas burger

spice crusted beef burger (medium) with cole slaw, monterey jack cheese, bbq sauce, pickles…and lots of potato chips

bobby’s burger palace, bergen town center, nj.

may 8, 2011.

sweet, sweet, sweet potato biscuits

i think in another life i had a southern grandmother. the intensity with which i love home-cooked southern comfort food (and the idea of it) is really unwarranted, being that i have no nostalgic ties to anywhere that could even be classified as “almost the south,” and i didn’t ever have anyone cooking me memorable southern meals as a child.

however, when i think of things like  biscuits (especially sweet potato ones like these), i just picture myself sitting on a worn-in chair on a grandmother’s porch in a house in charleston, sipping sweet tea and laughing with her, as we munch on warm sweet potato, ham and honey biscuits.

these biscuits, although delicious, were consumed in new jersey, not charleston, and i ate them with my parents with our easter ham. maybe when i look back, i’ll embellish the story and say that we at least ate them on a porch while drinking sweet tea. the recipe is below.

mixing the sweet potato mixture in with all of the other ingredients

the dough, flattened and rolled out

the biscuits as they enter the oven…

the finished product, topped with a thin slice of ham and a teaspoon of honey, just like my fake southern grandmother used to make!

recipe: sweet, sweet, sweet potato biscuits

makes 12

roast sweet potato until inside is tender. scoop out flesh.

preheat oven to 400°F. butter bottom of a baking sheet.

mix all of the dry ingredients together. add cubed butter to flour mixture; toss to coat and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. whisk mashed sweet potatoes and buttermilk in medium bowl. add to dry ingredients; toss with fork. gather mixture in bowl, kneading until dough comes together. roll dough to 1 1/2 inch circle. using 11/2-inch round biscuit cutter or the top of a glass, cut out biscuits.

arrange biscuits side by side in on baking sheet. bake until slightly golden on top and tester inserted into center biscuit comes out clean, about 15 minutes. cool and remove from baking sheet. slice in half if you like, and spread honey and ham on top.

paris: part 2 (bistro best)

the most difficult decision in paris? deciding which bistros to go to! it always feels as though there are five different bistros on each block, and no way of knowing which ones are must-visits. before our trip, i did some research on what the most beloved bistros in the city were, and the results were great! below are some photos from bistro allard and bistrot paul bert.

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the chilled calamari salad with tomato, parsley and lemon at bistrot paul bert

the duck sausage and pork cassoulet at bistro paul bert. cassoulet is one of my favorite dishes in the world. it always tastes as if it was cooked for hours ( it probably was) and the flavor and texture of the stewed white beans with the succulent meats is one of the tastiest things that comes to mind when i think of french food. this one was off the charts!

the haricot vert salad at bistro allard. we first had this dish at bistro allard four years ago, and richard has been talking about it ever since. blanched thin green beans are tossed with a creamy dressing and topped with cured duck breast and chives.

the grand marnier souffle at bistrot paul bert. typically, i am not one for liquor flavored desserts, but this one was so light, airy and smooth, that the mild flavor of the grand marnier enhanced the flavor of the dish perfectly.

paris brest at bistrot paul bert. what else can i say? i have never had (or heard of) this dessert prior to this trip, and it was a.m.a.z.i.n.g! fluffed chestnut cream piped inside a light doughnut-type pastry circle.

chocolate mousse with crispy chocolate wafers at bistro allard. this is the ultimate chocolate mousse. it doesn’t try to be a deviation on a classic; it was just utter perfection of one of the best chocolate-lover’s desserts in existence.

bistrot paul bert: 18, rue Paul Bert, 11e, Paris, 75011

allard bistro: 41 Rue St André des Arts

social eatz

in the same way a handsome writer i know disdains exclamation points, i wrinkle my nose at “esses” that become “zees.”

and  i turn away from most reality shows, even of the cooking competition variety (save  occasional episodes of throwdown and cupcake wars).

so social eatz, top chef participant angelo sosa’s eatery in the turtle bay section of the city, wasn’t on my list of places to go. but two lovely friends with very reliable tastes, fellow sweetsaltything, allison, and ms. mollie b (balaboosta!) were pleased with their respective visits there and encouraged me to check it out. both noted the quality of the food and the reasonable prices (i think allison made use of a daily candy or groupon deal, too).

the bulgogi burger was good– nicely charred on the outside and tender everywhere else, down to the  potato bun. the soy-sugar-sesame marinade makes the beef sweet, as you would expect. the cucumber kimchi is not nearly hot as you (ok, i) might fear.  this was a “tastes great, less filling” burger experience.

the only question is, in a town with corner bistro burgers and burger joints, dbgbs and go burgers, 5 napkins and five guys, restos and royales, and fatty crab sliders, how often will an asian burger craving strike?

i’m thinking…less often…

***

a toasted sesame salad, with some good meaty king oyster mushrooms

the bulgogi

cool cucumber kimchi

the brownie was fine, but the real star is the milk. there’s a mystery spice that i couldn’t put my finger on–”smells like indian food?”

but steph nailed it. cinnamon. if you like cinnamon, or cereal milk, this dessert is for you.

yelpers raved about the yuzu cream puff, and it sounded like a dream to me. i was irritated when these showed up.

this is improperly named. cream puffs are baked not fried.

they are serving zeppoles or  munchkins, with a bit of cream. and are they really using yuzu? not easy to tell.

***

there isn’t much in the way of ambiance at social eatz– it’s slick and fast.  i described it to the above-mentioned handsome writer, and his shorthand recast –”an asian johnny rockets?” — struck me as spot on. so what’s the secret for a trendy eatery like this to survive? how long are the “top chef” legs, really? is the food good enough to survive the first buzz?  social eatz occupies a good-not-great zone, but it possibly fills a need in that particular midtown east neighborhood; with their quick service, they could reasonably draw a strong lunchtime crowd and it seems like they could be fine hosts for modestly-sized, post-happy hour group.

basically, it could close next month or be around ten years from now, to no one’s real surprise.

(but it really should at least make it through this summer. and it will be a fun time.)

***
social eatz is at 32 east 53rd street, ny, ny (bet 2nd and 3rd)…